Arabic version: البرازيل تصوّت في سباق رئاسي بين لولا وبولسونارو

According to BBC News, Brazilians have finished voting in a general election led by President Luíz Inácio Lula da Silva and right-wing senator Flávio Bolsonaro. Polls closed at 17:00 Brasília Time on Sunday, and Brazil’s electronic voting system is expected to produce a result within hours. Twelve candidates are running, but Lula and Bolsonaro are the only ones polling in double figures.

BBC Brasil’s poll tracker placed both leading candidates at around 40%, with Lula slightly ahead. If no candidate wins 50% of valid votes in the first round, the two leading contenders will face a run-off on 25 October. Nearly 160 million Brazilians are eligible to vote. Voting is compulsory for literate citizens aged 18 to 70, while people aged 16 and over are entitled to take part.

Lula, 80, is seeking another term for the left-wing Workers’ Party. He previously served from January 2003 to December 2010 and returned to office after narrowly defeating Jair Bolsonaro in 2022. His government has cited a reduction in Amazon deforestation, while critics have challenged his support for exploratory offshore oil drilling near the mouth of the Amazon. Lula says oil revenues are important for financing a clean-energy transition.

Flávio Bolsonaro, 45, is the eldest son of former president Jair Bolsonaro and has served as a senator since 2019. He is standing for the Liberal Party and has campaigned on tougher crime policies, longer sentences, looser gun laws and cutting regulations for farmers. Jair Bolsonaro, who governed from 2019 to 2023, is barred from office and is serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup after losing the 2022 election. Corruption has become a major voter concern following allegations connected to jailed banker Daniel Vorcaro, including an investigation into Flávio Bolsonaro over suspected corruption and money laundering linked to financing a film about his father.